Section Chief Directors Chief Daisuke Aramaki :
Voiced by: Tamio Oki (Japanese, films),
Osamu Saka (Japanese,
Stand Alone Complex), Ikkyu Juku (Japanese;
ARISE);
William Frederick Knight (English; films,
Stand Alone Complex TV series,
Bandai Visual dub;
1997 game,
2004 game,
2005 game), Batou often uses up his paycheck buying muscle training equipment for the upper body, which others find useless, considering his extensive number of cyborg parts (mainly torso and arms). In the first season of
Stand Alone Complex, it is inferred that he uses it to remind himself of who he is, despite his cyberization, much like the watch the Major wears. In an interview on the DVD releases of Stand Alone Complex, Batou's Japanese voice actor theorized that Batou's use of exercise equipment was more for the purpose of exercising his mind and self-discipline rather than enhancing his body.
Togusa :
Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera (Japanese; films,
Stand Alone Complex), Darren Pleavin (English;
Stand Alone Complex, Animax Asia dub), In addition, Shimomura mentions that he was hard to do since his appearance in the manga looks deformed. Ishikawa is a master at recognizing data manipulation, along with being highly skilled at hacking in general. He has a low prosthetic percentage; his character dialogue (and his long recovery time from an injury) suggests that he is one of the least augmented members of Section 9. His appearance is characterized by a large beard and perpetually unkempt hair, and he is the oldest of Section 9's field operatives. Ishikawa is especially well known for his frequent, long-winded and often rather complicated expository speeches to the other characters, in order to inform them (and the show's audience) of new story developments. He formerly served with Kusanagi and Batou in South America when they were with the Ground Self-Defense Forces in the Japanese UN contingent. He was one of the earliest members recruited to be in Section 9 and seems to know the Major and her dislikes quite well. He is shown as being in charge of a
pachinko parlor called Parlor Ishikawa, and on occasion uses the cyberbrains of the old men who play there to complete particularly heavy data gathering (though it seems the men suffer no ill effects or are even aware of their situation, and are in fact 'paid' with wins at pachinko for use of their 'processor' time). Ishikawa is the most seemingly laid-back member of the unit. Despite being a member of Section 9, Ishikawa appears to be relatively physically weak in comparison to the other members. He is almost never shown in combat (though in one episode he fires a shoulder-mounted cannon to disable a heavily armored vehicle) and takes a support role during most missions in which he is dispatched. When he is captured late in the first season, he is shown as being easily taken into custody by Umibozu commandos sent to arrest him. This is possibly due to the fact that he is one of the least cybernetically enhanced members (along with
Togusa and Saito) and thus, would have been at a disadvantage had he physically resisted. Late into the second series, Ishikawa is wounded in a suicide bomb attack on Section 9's tilt wing aircraft. Following this he is seen hospitalized and wearing a bandage on his left arm, this lends credit to the theory that he has little external cyberization, especially when in contrast to Batou's quick recovery from wounds in the same episode. • As a point of humor, a bottle of what appears to be
Chivas Regal is seen in his office in the closing animation of season 1, as well as a similar bottle appearing in the first
Ghost in the Shell movie, though no indications are given that he is
alcoholic. It is known that he smokes
cigarettes and
cigars on occasion, particularly in stressful circumstances. • In the 2017 film, he jokes that he got a prosthetic liver so he could drink without worry. • As stated in 2nd GiG episode 12, Ishikawa is a fan of American super hero comics. • Ishikawa also makes an appearance in
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence to deliver important information to Batou. • According with Tachikomatic Days of episode 22 (Season 1), he has a glass of milk after his bath and he takes off his beard before going to sleep. This was meant to contrast with the previous episode (21), that stated that Batou has a beer after his bath and takes out his cybernetic eyeballs before going to sleep. Tachikomatic Days are not meant to be taken seriously .
Specialists Saito :
Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese; films,
Stand Alone Complex),
Anime Vision.com has said that Saito's presence in the episode "Poker Face" is intriguing since he did not confirm if he really encountered Motoko Kusanagi during his mercenary days, keeping his past hidden from his fellow officers.
Borma :
Voiced by: Taro Yamaguchi (Japanese; films,
Stand Alone Complex),
Kazuya Nakai (Japanese,
ARISE); Dean Wein (English;
Stand Alone Complex TV Series, Bandai Visual dub; 2004 game, 2005 game),
Mark Gibbon (English;
Stand Alone Complex OVAs, Ocean dub),
Phil Parsons (English;
ARISE, Funimation dub) :
Portrayed by: Tawanda Manyimo (
2017 film) is
Section 9's explosive weapons and
bomb disposal specialist, providing rear support for the rest of the unit
Ladriya is an original character appearing exclusively in the
2017 film, and is the only member of the team not drawn specifically from any
Ghost in the Shell source material. She is
Section 9's advanced weapons specialist and is skilled in close quarters knife combat. Samal regards Ladriya as "one of the more intuitive of the gang." "She's a bit feisty, she's a bit cheeky as well. But when it comes down to it I'm quite proud of the fact that she's quite ruthless when it's necessary", said Samal. Though Samal had to build the character from scratch, she said she drew some inspiration from one of the male Section 9 characters who didn't make it to the big screen (such as Paz) who is "a bit of a lady killer" in the manga. She used that to color in her version of the character, saying, "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if Ladriya is a bit like the female equivalent of that? Like a tiny bit into blokes.'"
Field agents Paz :
Voiced by: Takashi Onozuka (Japanese; films,
Stand Alone Complex),
Yoji Ueda (Japanese,
ARISE);
Bob Buchholz (English;
Stand Alone Complex TV series, Bandai Visual dub; 2004 game, 2005 game), John Murphy (English;
Stand Alone Complex OVAs; Ocean dub),
Jason Douglas (English;
ARISE, Funimation dub) is an investigator and "deep-cover" infiltration specialist in Section 9. Before joining Public Security
Section 9, Paz was rumored by various
police circles to have been a
gangster in several
yakuza groups in
Japan. Paz is the backup "
jack-of-all-trades" for the field agents and is also a known
chain smoker within the unit. Upon his first encounter with the Major, he remarked, "I never sleep with the same woman twice." His basis for such is later found to be that he does not want to pull others into the world he lives in. He uses a folding knife in combat. In
SAC 2nd GIG episode 13, Paz encounters an ex-lover scorned (Kaori Kawashima) who had adopted a body that was identical to his own down to the smallest detail. A knife fight ensues, and one "Paz" is stabbed through the eye and killed. It isn't made clear whether or not the victim was the real Paz or the impostor (Kaori), as they both have cuts across their torsos, and the surviving "Paz" says nothing. However, the torso wound of the deceased Paz appeared to be deeper, suggesting that the original survived. His name is often pronounced as its Japanese counterpart,
Pazu in
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series.
Azuma :
Voiced by: Masahiro Ogata (Japanese); Erik Davies (English, Bandai Visual dub) is one of
Public Security Section 9's new
recruits in
S.A.C 2nd GIG. Azuma was recruited as one of the field operatives in Section 9 from JGSDF Intelligence. He was present at the shipyard battle in which fellow rookie
Yano died and was pulled out of field duty prior to the Dejima confrontation. At the end of 2nd Gig it is implied that Azuma is now a full-fledged member of Section 9. Azuma is featured prominently at the beginning of
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, supporting
Togusa in an incident at the airport, as well as in
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. Azuma also shows up in the manga
Ghost in the Shell: Human-Error Processor 1.5 by Masamune Shirow as a source of comedy.
Yano is one of
Public Security Section 9's new recruits in
2nd GIG. Yano was recruited by Section 9 as a
rookie and field operative. Yano was killed in the raid on Kuze's false location in the 2nd GIG episode "
Chain Reaction", making him Section 9's first officer to be killed in the line of duty from hostile
gunfire. Yano also appears briefly in the manga as a new recruit. In the manga he was killed by a Russian named Koil Krasnov, whom he was tailing as his first assignment.
Proto :
Voiced by: Oki Sugiyama (Japanese); Richard Miro (English, Bandai Visual dub) is one of
Public Security Section 9's new recruits in
2nd GIG. Proto is Section 9's only (
prototype)
bioroid member and was also the
Tachikoma's maintenance
technician (before becoming one of the new recruits). During the Dejima crisis Proto played a key role in helping Aramaki rescue the Prime Minister
Yoko Kayabuki, who had been relieved of her duty and arrested under charges of
treason. Proto managed to gain access to the net, where he communicated with Section 9's Tachikoma units. Through them Proto was able to gain building
blueprints and up-to-date information on Section 9's Dejima operation, as well as the location of the Prime Minister, before an attack barrier disabled him. Proto appears again in the
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society movie, wearing the black uniform of Section 9 along with a sidearm, which suggests that he is now a field officer.
Maven :
Voiced by: Cristina Valenzuela (English,
First Assault Online)
Maven is an original character appearing only in
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online. She is
Section 9's resident expert on guerilla warfare and topography, stemming from her time in the jungles of South America. She first came to Chief Aramaki's attention during an operation in which she single-handedly held off an insurgent attack after her entire squad was killed. Since then, she has been working for Section 9, where she has proven both resourceful and deadly. R&D combat specialist who proved herself to be a lethal operative during the conflicts in South America. She has a fiery temper and the skills to match. Maven worked with the Kodansu Corporation during WWIV where she served in R&D and field testing of technologies. She spearheaded the development of the therm-optic barrier to aid in the evacuation of refugees during the Bolivia Crisis. With the passing of Bill 196J, the Kodansu Corporation was effectively shut down and all its research and equipment was appropriated by the Japanese government. Following this, Maven found work with police forces in Fukuoka. She was later acquired by Section 9 to aid in the deployment of her past research projects. Though it is not known just how much of her body is cybernetic, it is suspected that she has experimental prosthetics from her time working for Kodansu.
AI Personnel Think tanks In the various editions of
Ghost in the Shell, Section 9 utilizes different kinds of , or . All seem to act like children. In the original manga, the think tanks used by Section 9 are the . Unable to get the rights to use the original spider-tank design from the manga, Masamune Shirow created a new design for television, which he named the "Tachikoma". There are distinct differences between the two, most significantly in the 'eyes' and the vertically oriented abdomen. Still, the tanks are easily recognizable as descendants of the original Fuchikoma. :
Voiced by: Sakiko Tamagawa (Japanese);
Melissa Fahn,
Rebecca Forstadt,
Lara Jill Miller,
Sandy Fox,
Sherry Lynn,
Julie Maddalena,
Peggy O'Neal,
Lia Sargent, and
Michelle Ruff (English) The are the think tanks utilized by Section 9 in the
Stand Alone Complex series. In both the manga and television series, one spider-tank is preferred by Batou who uses a natural oil to lubricate its parts, and this usage of natural oil and its experiences with Batou begin to disseminate through the others, slowly causing the whole group of them to develop their AIs into separate identities, which Kusanagi begins to suspect are unique Ghosts. This leads to their decommissioning, although they all react to the Umibouzu assault on Section 9 and try to help, but their new hardware for civilian work prevents them from doing so. In the premiere of
2nd GIG, Batou is pleased to see that the Tachikoma have been recommissioned, but when one speaks with the original robotic voice he is disheartened until the Tachikoma breaks into laughter, revealing that they have retained their ghosts. At the end of
2nd GIG, when the American Empire is attempting to bomb Dejima, the Tachikoma finish saving the refugees' ghosts before uploading their own ghosts into the satellite that contains their AI to stop the final missile, resulting in their apparent death. In the final scene of
2nd GIG, Section 9 is seen using new think tanks known as , devoid of the individuality of their Tachikoma predecessors as well as an inferior AI. With the return of Kusanagi during
Solid State Society, it is revealed that the Tachikoma's AIs were spared from destruction, with Kusanagi accompanied by the "ghosts" of two of them, now calling themselves and . Musashi, who has modified its digital self to be yellow in color, is Batou's preferred Tachikoma. In the novelization of the film, the other Tachikoma AIs have also given themselves names: , , , , , , and . :
Voiced by:Miyuki Sawashiro In the events of
Ghost in the Shell: Arise, the burgeoning Section 9 uses a think tank known as the , short for . ==Recurring characters==